. (Of a title, office, or right) conferred by or based on inheritance:members of the ancient Polish aristocracy who had hereditary right to elect the king ◊ The passing on of property or titles is also hereditary and through the eldest male child of the family. 1 [ATTRIBUTIVE] (Of a person) holding a position by inheritance:I am the hereditary chief of the Piscataway people 2 (Of a characteristic or disease) determined by genetic factors and therefore able to be passed on from parents to their offspring or descendants:cystic fibrosis is our most common fatal hereditary disease 3 Of or relating to inheritance:a form of hereditary succession and dynastic rule became standard practice 4 Mathematics (Of a set) defined such that every element that has a given relation to a member of the set is also a member of the set.